September 19, 2024 • 30 mins
Mike and Wes discuss QB Jordan Love’s return to practice (:30) and examine the Titans’ stout defense (3:44) as well as their struggling offense and special teams (6:51). They also share their keys to victory on both defense (12:04) and offense (16:23), and look at other key games around the league in Week 3 (23:30).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spoffer, joined by the
one and only Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to you Hear
from our studios at Landbouwfield to preview Sunday's Week three matchup.
It will be a noon Central Time kickoff in Nashville,
Tennessee between the Packers and the Tennessee Titans, and we
(00:30):
will talk about the Titans at length here in a
bit West. But unless you have been living under a rock,
which is maybe I'll try that someday, live under a rock.
You are aware that Jordan Love has returned to practice
for the Green Bay Packers. He was on the practice
field Wednesday on a limited basis. There was absolutely no
(00:51):
clarification given whatsoever as to what limited meant. What did
he actually do at practice? Nobody knows except Jordan Love
and the players on the but it certainly lends itself
to belief that there is a legitimate chance Jordan Love
could get medical clearance by the end of this week
(01:13):
in order to play against the Titans. Maybe that happens,
maybe it doesn't. But regardless the fact that this early
after that knee injury in Brazil. Jordan Love is actually
back on the practice field doing something within those workouts
with his teammates, a huge positive sign for Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
You and I boarding the buses and saw pollo are
feeling all over the place of just as much as
it hurt to lose the opener, please don't let this
be the end of the Jordan Love story in twenty
twenty four. How the injury looked you saw the replays
of it. How demoralizing that felt, that hopelessness feeling with
fifteen seconds ago, that maybe something significant and happening with
(01:55):
Jordan Love. Love said it as locker. It's still one
of the most painful things he's ever experienced on a
football field. But the fact that he's able to get
on the practice field look as spry as he did.
I had a video that kind of so quote unquote
went viral, like all videos do in these day and age,
but a lot of engagement with it, you know, with
Jordan bouncing around, dancing around, looking like he's having a
(02:16):
good time out there, all those things are just so
welcomed considering how things look less than you know, two
weeks ago. So we'll see what this all means for Sunday.
And you know, Malik Willis talked to his locker as
well on Wednesday, and they're gonna be ready for whatever
scenario unfolds with this situation. But Jordan Love limited and
(02:37):
that's all we learned about what he did in practice
on Wednesday. He was limited, team limited limited. But the
fact is is that the sire relief and the the
the bullet that the Packers appear to have dodged with Love.
You just can't talk enough about just the sire relief
that comes with that. And then along along those lines,
(03:00):
it was something I wrote about earlier this week, the
fact that the Packers were able to create a game
plan to win without him. It just only adds to
the excitement of what this team could look like with him.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah. Absolutely, And so when it comes to Sunday against Tennessee,
Packers might have the return of Jordan Love or it
might be the so called revenge tour for Malik Willis
going up against his former team, a notion that he
as expected downplayed it said, Hey, he's got nothing against
(03:30):
you know how things went in Tennessee. You know it's
an organization that drafted him took a chance on him,
and Malik Willis is just is thankful for whatever opportunity
comes his way. So we will see what happens there.
What we do know is the opponent will be the
Tennessee Titans, and they are zero to two after a
(03:50):
couple of very frustrating losses actually by the identical score
of twenty four to seventeen, first to the Chicago Bears,
then to the New York Jets. And if there's one
unit that can't really shoulder a heck of a lot
of blame for the Titans starting zero to two, it's
that defense. They have allowed just four hundred and thirteen
(04:12):
yards total in two games, which leads the league. That
is the fewest yards allowed by any defense in the
NFL through the first two weeks of the season. This
is going to be whether it is Love or Willis
under center, this is going to be a very different
kind of challenge for the Packers offensively.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, and the impressive thing about what Tennessee has done
is they've done this without an interception so far. They've
achieved this without having like a big sack sort of thing.
I mean, Harold Landry has three sacks, but It's not
like it's these name sort of guys that have been
accomplishing all this. They've been doing it with the sum
of the whole and Denard Wilson going in there, I
(04:52):
think it's been such a breadth of fresh air for
them not to say what Mike Vrabel did all those
years didn't work. They had a lot of success there too,
but it just it seems like the direction that this
thing headed with Brian Calahan taken over as the head
coach and in giving the reins to Wilson after everything
that that Baltimore Ravens did last year. Mike, you and
I have talked about it numerous times. I've never seen
(05:15):
a coaching staff a particular side of the ball get
gutted the way that the Ravens did. And we're talking
head coaches, we're talking defensive coordinators, We're talking about guys
moving up in the in the scheme of things with
how dominant Baltimore was during stretches last season. So now
Wilson comes here, he puts on his own swerve out
of this thing. As we were talking about with Matt
(05:36):
Lafleur on Wednesday, guy that kind of comes out of that.
Greg Williams sort of tree that aggression, you know, wanting
to get after it, but also very calculated and what
they've been able to accomplish. So the first two weeks
and I watched basically all of that Bears game. If
the Titans could have just played defense the entire time
and not had to worry about the other two phases,
(05:57):
they come out of there with a victor.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, they would have beaten the Bear and might have
beaten him handily they had. I mean, was that game
was seventeen nothing?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yeah? Yeah, you know, I mean the Bears scored twenty
four on answer to win it.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Yeah, they let that one get away, I mean, bottom line.
And you know the first two games, both of these
games the Titans have lost. They have gotten off to
fast starts. They have built double digit leads. I believe
in both contests. They have outscored their opponents twenty seven
to ten in the first half. Yeah, first halves of
these first two games. You mentioned Landry has the three sacks.
(06:32):
You have, you have Jeffrey Simmons in the middle of
that defensive line. He's now paired with is it Tovandre?
And I get the first name correctly to and Andre Sweat.
So this is, as Larry Mccaerroan likes to say, this
is a salty group up front. But where the Titans
(06:52):
have had trouble is the mistakes on offense and the
mistakes on special teams. They've had a punt blocked in
each of their first two games. One of those was
returned for a touchdown by the Bears by former packer
Jonathan Owens. Actually, yeah, the other one I can't remember
for sure if it's set up a field goal or
a touchdown for the Jets, but led to points for
(07:14):
the Jets. So two block punts in the first two weeks,
and then on the offensive side with quarterback will Levis,
it's just it's been the turnovers. He's turned the ball
over five times himself, multiple interceptions, multiple lost fumbles, and
really the plays that have been the killers and that
have generated so much attention is where Willis has turned
(07:36):
the ball. I'm sorry, Levis has turned the ball over
trying to be a superhero.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, he's under.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Pressure and instead of instead of just taking a sack
and you know, living to play another play, he's trying
to do something miraculous. And against the Bears, it led
to a wacky shovel pass out toward the sideline that
was returned for a pick six by Tiger Stevenson against
the Jets. They were in the red zone, you know,
(08:03):
in position to score points, and he tries a you know,
a shovel thing to a running back off to the
side while he's getting sacked, and the ball ends up
kind of rolling and bouncing on the ground and the
Jets recover and the Titans don't get any points out
of that drive. And you know, Brian Callahan has not
minced any words in terms of how he feels about
his quarterback's lack of protection of the football. So that's
(08:28):
that's the area that the Titans are really focused on here,
is is getting Levis to play more within himself, you know,
let the offense do the work. He has been sacked
seven times. They have issues up front, and that's certainly
something I'm sure the Packers are looking at here going
into this game. But but Tony Pollard, Calvin Ridley, these
(08:49):
guys have weapons. You know, Levis has weapons around him,
and it's one of those things that you figure it's
probably just a matter of time before they can start
to put it together. A little bit more consistently. Hopefully
the Packers can keep them on that you know, up
and down inconsistent level for at least another week here.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
The Titans, especially, and I watched the game. As I
mentioned too, they remind me so much of the Bears offensively,
where it's like they got all these weapons and a
young quarterback in an offensive line that's really struggling so far.
So when you look at the amount of pressure, the
amount of hits that he's taken, in the amount of takeaways,
it seems to lend itself very well to what the
Packers have been doing well defensively through the first two
(09:27):
weeks of the season. But as Xavier McKinney was discussing
at his locker on Wednesday, there are so many things
that give you pause as far as the threats in
which the Titans can hurt you. Kelvin Ridley has gotten
his career back on track and he got rewarded for
it this past offseason. I thought last week against the
Jets really showed that he is still every bit of
(09:48):
a dynamic receiver that he was earlier in his career.
They have Tyler Boyd who's been a consistent performer for years.
DeAndre Hopkins. You know a guy in Treylon Berk said,
you and I were talking, what was a potential Packers
pick three years ago?
Speaker 1 (10:02):
He was ended up being a mid a mid first
round pick if I correct.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
And then Tony Pollard goes there and while there are
these questions about ty J. Spears and whether or not
he's going to be available for this one, not practicing
due to an ankle on Wednesday, Pollard showed last year
with Dallas, I mean he is a bellcow back if
you allow him to be, and they've been feeding him,
so the number one thing they have to clean up.
And it was another thing that McKinney touched on for
(10:26):
everything that's gone wrong for the Titans the first two weeks,
much like the Packers are doing, they're doing their own research,
they're doing their own review, They're trying to make their
own corrections to make sure that you can avoid that
going into this matchup with Green Bay. From the Packers' perspective,
it is about generating pressure though, and if Lovice does
give you an opportunity taking the football away. Five interceptions
(10:48):
through the first two games of the season, seven all
of last year combined. The Packers are feeling themselves a
little bit in that regard the confidence, the swagger is
there that if the ball is in the air, the
secondary is going to make a play.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yeah, And I want to get to our keys to
victory for this game for Green Band just a minute,
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(11:18):
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Speaker 2 (11:26):
Can I break in for one second? There? I was
talking to my dad, my dad, Pahad Avid, listener of
Packers on scripted. We appreciate your patronage and everything else
you do to support me. Father.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
He was actually on the fence about whether or not
you were going to remember the read with how long
our show went on Tuesday, because I think from what
Pahad Stats and Info said, we got to the twenty
six minute mark. Before we got the read in.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, and usually the show's over by that, so yeah,
we did. We went pretty long on Tuesday. Yeah, just
a lot to talk about there was there was from
that game, but yes, I did remember, and we ended
up having kind of an extra long show on Tuesday there. Well,
you just brought it up, Wes. With regard to pressure
defensively for the Packers, I think we both would agree
(12:10):
that that will be one of the keys to victory here.
And you know that Packers defensive front is waiting for
an opportunity like this to get in a little bit
more of that pin your ears back mode, or at
least when it gets to say third and seven or
third nine or something like that, right, because the plan
(12:31):
has been, you know, to rush to contain Jalen Hurts
and Anthony Richardson, not necessarily rush to sack them. As
a result, the Packers have just three sacks through the
first two games of the season, which ranks toward the
bottom of the league. But that's been partly the result
of the plan, and I would say plan wise, that
has worked pretty well when you look at the fact
(12:52):
that those two quarterbacks, as I said on our last show,
they combined for only seventy rushing yards through the first
two games. In at fifty of those seventy rushing yards
were in the fourth quarter, So in the first three
quarters of those of the first two games, the Packers
pass rush plan worked very very well. This will be
a little bit different. Will Levis does have eight carries
(13:14):
for seventy four yards on the season, most of those
being of the scramble variety, so he will take off
and run. He can take off and run. What I
caution against in this game is because of everything we
just previously talked about with will Levis, where the message
is trying to be pounded into him, don't force the ball,
don't try to be a hero, only take what's there.
(13:36):
He may be more inclined than he's ever been before
to take off and run with the ball if he's
not seeing what he wants to see when he's in
the pocket. I think the Packers need to be cognizant
of that as much as they want to get after
him and employ a more traditional pass rush plan against
a quarterback as opposed to the first two weeks. You
(13:56):
have to kind of be aware of just the situation
and will Levis is in and how these first couple
of games have gone for him, because if he thinks
he has a chance to get the first down with
his legs, he's gonna take it instead of putting the
ball in harm's way.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
The consequences are not as drastic for the Green Bay
Packers if will Levis gets out into the open field,
as let's say, Jalen Hurts, we saw that ourselves with
our own eyes in Philadelphia two years ago. Absolutely, but
the danger is still omnipresent. And I think the big
lesson that if I'm Jason Rebervich and Jeff Hafflin I'm
talking to these guys this week is hey, listen, we
achieved our goals in the first two games of the season,
(14:33):
and there are a lot of selflessness that went along
with that. A lot of team mindset played into that.
But that doesn't mean now is the time to forsake
your rush lanes or to let your gaps go. You
still have to rush with a plan. It can't just
all be going back with your ears here thinking you're
just gonna be going after a statue. That's not the case.
So what my message would be, as well as we've
(14:54):
performed the last two weeks. This is the plan we're implementing.
This is how we want to go about doing it.
Stick to that in the rest will work itself out.
Because here's the thing, Michael, You're right, Will Levis is
going to be thinking at the beginning of this game,
all right, clean slight, no turnovers, let's play good football.
But as the punches and the kicks and everything happens
throughout the course of the first half and into the
(15:15):
third quarter and you get into winning time if it
comes down to it, that's where you start going back
on what your preset function is. That's where the things
can lapse a little bit, and that's where the Packers
have to get to. So, yeah, the first quarter has
worked out great for so far for the Packers this season.
They've gotten takeaways, they've gotten stops. If you have the opportunities,
(15:36):
get them but don't chase them. Is going to be
the biggest thing here, because on paper, I think the
way the Packers have performed on scale, this would be
a game I would expect the Packers to go in
and win, regardless of who is starting at quarterback. But
you have to earn it. You have to play smart
in order to achieve it.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yeah, you want to be able to keep that turnover
train going, not just the Packers' defensive turnover train, but
that offensive turnover train of the Titans, because if you
can get another takeaway early in this game, yea, you
put an opponent like the Titans into like, oh here
we go again mood, Like you know, we haven't gotten
these things fixed, you know, and this is just gonna
(16:13):
be just like these other games with the mistakes. And
if you can force that kind of a mistake early on,
I think it could go a long way offensively, whether
it's Love or Willis at quarterback for the Packers. Obviously,
you'd like to be able. You'd like to be able
to run the ball like the Packers did against the
Colts every single week in this league. You'd be a
(16:34):
very very difficult team to beat. That's not realistic, you know,
fifty plus carries, you know, two hundred and sixty plus
rushing yards is not realistic. But if you can get
enough going on the ground and that really gets your
play action game going. I mean, I've said it many times,
Jordan Love was at the peak of his powers in
the second half of last season. It was when Aaron
(16:56):
Jones was running the ball really well and the play
action pass was just open. Stuff was open for Jordan Love.
So whether it's Love or Willis at quarterback, I think
the play action game, the play action game is huge
here against a defense that has had a lot of
success shutting teams down in the first couple of weeks. Obviously,
(17:16):
you have to protect the ball. The Packers have done
a pretty decent job of that. Josh Jacobs has put
the ball on the ground once in each of the
first two games, so the the you know, ball security,
the attention to the ball security there is necessary for him.
But I think offensively this comes down to the play
action game for Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Really quickly before and I agree with you on that.
I love listening to Ben Sermons. We talked to him
on Wednesday night. I mentioned this here as soon as
I came back. He always learned something those Brent Ben Simmons,
the Packers running back his news conferences. Absolutely, because we
got into the discussion towards the end of his presser,
remout just exactly what's going on with Jacobs and the
analogy he used, and maybe he's spit that it's at
us before and I haven't thought much about it, but
it was the jaguar analogy, where if jaguar, when he's
(18:00):
running as fast as they are, they use their tail
basically to keep their balance when they're cutting fast. With
running backs, when a guy is moving quickly, that's where
the arms go up because naturally, without thinking about it,
that's how your body is responding to make sure that
you stay balanced. The job of the NFL running backs
coach and the NFL runner is to still keep that
(18:23):
ball in tight when those things happen. What you're seeing
with the Josh Jacobs fumble so far, both of them
pretty much have been when he's trying to change direction
and allowing the ball to get away from his body.
Sermons feels like that's correctable. It's something they want to
work on with him. But again, it's just something very
unique to the way he runs. It's also what makes
him a brilliant running back. It got the Packers so
(18:44):
many yards over expectation in that game against the Colts,
and so you tip your half to him on that regard.
I think this game has won in two different capacities.
I think it's one on the ground. I think what
Josh Jacob's dealing with a back injury. Yet, we'll have
to see where he's at. Emmanuel Wilson Sermons says he
feels like he's ready for a bigger role, if that's
what's called upon now that Marshawn Lloyd has gone to
injured reserve with the ankle. But conversely, Tony Pollard is
(19:08):
the kind of guy that could give you a lot
of headaches, especially with the way the Packers and the
yards that they're giving up per carry right now, because
he's a plotting kind of back. He's up to one
hundred and forty four rushing yards on the year, but
only along right now of twenty six. He's a guy
that's going to continually try to wear you down. The
Packers have to curb against that. The other thing where
Green Bay needs to come through here is protecting the football.
(19:28):
Tennessee's defense has done so many things well here so
far except taking away the football. They have one takeaway
so far this season, tied for twenty fourth in the league.
Only two other teams have zero so far this year.
They have one interception. I believe it is no one
fumble recovery is what it is. No interception So whether
it's Love, whether it's Malik Willis, regardless of who's carrying
(19:50):
the football, the Packers need to make sure that thing
does not get over to the Tennessee Titans because both
of these games the first two weeks for Tennessee have
been lost by the turnover margin and the points have
been generated off them.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah, I totally agree with you there. And the other
thing I will add is I mentioned the block punts
that Tennessee has has struggled with on special teams. This
is the kind of game where you have to win
the special team's battle in some form or fashion. And
I'm not saying the Packers need to get need to
block another punt by Tennessee, but when a special team's
(20:22):
unit is struggling the way tennessees is, you can't let
them get the upper hand on you. In a matchup
like this, the Packers need to win the special team's battle,
whether that's Brayden Narvis and having you know, a perfect
day kicking instead of having the one miss that he's had,
Daniel Wheelan continuing to do what he's done with with
pinning opponents inside the twenty yard line with his punts.
(20:44):
You know, maybe it's it's Keyshawn Nixon or Jaden Reid,
you know, kickoff return, punt return, you know, making something happen.
The Packers need to win that phase because they are
going up against a unit that is struggling and trying
to fix a bunch of things. So so you got
to come out ahead there in the in the field
position battle.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
We know there's no gambling in Bushwood, So let's just
you know, handshake on this. Yeah, NFL, no gambling happening here.
What week do you think Keishaw Nixon's finally gonna have
a real returnable, Like he might return one, but at
what point, let's say, within three yards of the goal line,
into the into the end zone.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yeah, maybe maybe Thanksgiving Night against Miami or something like that.
Like I mean yeah, I mean, he's not gonna get.
He's not gonna get He's not gonna get the opportunities
unless the kicker just completely mishits.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
I can't wait for the Packers unscripted when we break
down this new kickoff at the end of the season.
We made all these changes, all these structural changes. It's like, Hey,
I'm going to completely renovate my house and I'm not
gonna live in it. I am gonna redo the cabinets
and all the appliances and everything like that, and I'm
gonna go lay, I'm gonna go sit in the garage
for six months.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Like yeah, this is what though, right, Yeah, they tried,
they tried something. They tried something that essentially it isn't
it had. It's not any worse than all the touchbacks
watching for the last couple of years. Just now the
touchbacks are you know, the ball is on the thirty yard.
The one thing, the one thing I'll say where you know,
(22:18):
I mean, those five yards can make a difference at
any point, the one thing I'll say. And it sort
of hit me watching the Monday Night game this past
Monday night, after the Eagles kicked the field goal against
the Falcons to go up six, and then they kicked
the ball off into the end zone, and you know,
and the Falcons had plenty of time because of the
drop third down pass and all that. But when you're
(22:40):
you know, you've you've got a last ditch two minute
drive and you're starting on the thirty matters and instead
of the twenty five, it's sort of it's sort of like, oh,
you know, and Obviously, as Matt Lafleur had said in Brazil,
it wasn't communicated to Nixon to not take that last
kickoff out of the end zone. He lost about five
five seconds and about fifteen yards where the Packers could
(23:03):
have been able to start that final drive on the
thirty yard line where they were just trying to get
into hail Mary position, you know. And and conversely, you know,
Daniel Wheelan pinning the Colts on the five yard line
on that final drive last week, where they did get
out into, you know, very close to the hail Mary position.
(23:23):
If they're if that punt is a touchback on the
twenty instead of on the five, that final drive perhaps looks,
you know, looks different there as well. But before we go,
a quick glance at some other key games that we'll
be keeping our eyes on in Week three. I think
the biggest one is a pair of two and oh teams.
Houston is at Minnesota. Minnesota the only two and oh
(23:44):
team in the NFC North so far. Houston c J. Stroud,
the second year quarterback, that offense well, and that defense
quite frankly, they're you know, they've other than those long
passes they gave up to Anthony Richardson in Week one,
Houston's defense has you know, been been pretty tough. Obviously,
Chicago Bears, you know, their offensive line, as you know,
(24:07):
has had its struggles and the Texans took advantage of that.
But a really interesting one at US Bank with two
two and zero teams in Week three.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Yeah, and again Minnesota the way they've been performing so far,
and you can see the locker room videos how excited
they are, and I credited Kevin O'Connell a lot of
that earlier this week, seeing the adjustment is going to
be important. There was a lot of fervor and there
was a lot of hype behind Josh Dobbs last year too,
and they started to turn things around, seeing if they
can maintain this. It sounds like from what I understood
(24:35):
that Aaron Jones might already be a little banged up
already with a hip. I don't think it's anything that's
going to keep him out, but I mean again, he's
he's the guy in that backfield and they need weapons
right now. So the thing I'm most interested to see though,
is how the Vikings offense just excuse me, that Vikings
defense handles the CJ Strout effect, because there's something about
(24:57):
that offense right now, man, where I just think it's
one of the more exciting units in football. It looks
like the Joe Mixon thing has been a tremendous signing
for them. I questioned that at first. I just wondered,
if you know where Mixing was going with his career,
if maybe this was getting towards the end. But they
got everything they need to put points up against you,
(25:17):
and it'll be a good little track meet over at Minneapolis.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, I think so too. Philadelphia is at New Orleans
interesting there because can the Saints playing at home get
to three and zero and attract even more attention? Whereas
Ken the Philadelphia Eagles on a short week going on
the road, bounce back from coughing that one up at
home to the Falcons on Monday night, with that with
that last minute drive by Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Did you see that stat on Derek Carr as far
as the number of scoring drives he started the season with, Yeah,
it's like fifteen straight spots.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
It's yeah, it's something crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Like the next closest is like eight.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Yeah. Lynn Kubiak, the the new offensive coordinator for the
new Orleans Saints. He's already been talked about as a
head coaching candidate after after two weeks of the Saints
putting up whatever forty plus into their first two games
this season.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Tomara looking like a be still a laves there. I mean,
there's yeah, there's a lot to like. But yeah, that's
a huge turnaround for Philly because they're coming off a
demoralizing loss.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yeah, and it's it's a short week and then they
have they play on Monday night at home, they have
to jump on a plane on Saturday go on the road.
Those are those are challenging situations. Baltimore, the Ravens trying
to avoid zero to three going into Dallas to play
the Cowboys. And it's interesting West because when we were
talking last year, the Packers were in the wild Card
(26:39):
round going down to Dallas and everything was, you know,
the Cowboys had, however long of a home winning streak,
it was et cetera, et cetera. Well, now, combining the
wild Card game last January with the Cowboys home opener
last week, they not only have lost their last two
home games, they have gotten blown out at home in
their last two games in Dallas, and they are at
(26:59):
home again facing a Ravens team that that's kind of
up against it because I know there's a seventh playoff spot.
I know there's there's the seventeen games now instead of sixteen.
But zero to three, man, that's a big that's a
big hole that John Harbaugh and company are trying to
avoid absolutely.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
And again, as I talked about on Tuesday, show the
margin for victory in this league and the margin for
error is so small and narrow. And just look at
Baltimore to see a good example that people are going
to make this out to be about Mike McCarthy. To
some extent, it will because he's the guy that ultimately
hires as coaches, but the Mike Zimmer defense here. This
is a huge, huge test for Yeah, big time because
of what they accomplished last year, you know, for them
(27:38):
to be able to make this transition this year with
the expectations that they have and having their their top
cornerbacks back at least in theory we're going to have
them back, they they have to be able to respond
here against Lamar Jackson in this Baltimore offense, very very
intriguing matchup to see exactly how that plays out.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Last one to get a quick thought on. Much like
Houston and Minnesota, where that's an NFC North rival playing
a team the Packers are going to see later in
the season, the Detroit Lions are going on the road
to play Arizona. Yep, that is a team that the
Packers will face later this season as well. The Lions
trying to bounce back from the home loss to the Buccaneers.
(28:18):
The Cardinals they fell in Week one, looked awfully good
in Week two, and the Cardinals seeing if they can
really get something going with Kyler Murray. And as you
mentioned on our last show, Marvin Harrison Junior.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
I have a lot of respect for Kyler Murray, so
I don't want this to come off as a diss
but I love all this conversation right now about him
and how he's playing and what the difference has been
with him. And I keep telling people over and over again,
I mean, he was really good his first two years when.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Tom Clemons was his position, going yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Just want to throw that out there, but he is
a supernaturally talented guy. It seems like he has some
great synergy already with Marvin Harrison Junior. Exciting offense again
another exciting offense in the situation the game they play.
Seeing this class between the way the Lions like to
do things and what potentially is there for the Cardinals.
I think that's gonna be something that'll be uh. We
won't be able to watch it, but they'll be fun
(29:08):
for a lot of people to check out.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Yeah, we'll be uh, I guess trying to would By
the time we get on the plane, I suppose we'll
be checking, uh, checking the score, see if we can
catch some highlights maybe on between Detroit and Arizona.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
But I got one more thing. I love the other
thing about the Nasprobolack. I did not want to see
TWOA get hurt. But you know, we all including myself,
kind of wrote the the you know, the obituary here
on the Buffalo Bills. And now they are in a
position to go three and oh here going up against
the O and two Jacksonville Jaguars amidst all their changes,
amidst all the questions about Josh Allen and if he's
(29:40):
overrated or whatever else. Death taxes Buffalo Bills in the
the AFC East. Now, I just feel like that team
and what they've built. There's been some guys that have
come and gone. But in this post, Tom Brady era,
I think you got to give a lot of respect
to Sean McDermott for what they've built there.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Absolutely, and I'll throw this out as well because we
were just talking about the Cardinals Week one. The Cardinals
had a seventeen to three lead in Buffalo US over
the Bills. They let that get away, and the Bills
have shown that, you know, they're looking like a team
that remains a contender. But the Arizona Cardinals, I mean,
that's about as long a flight as it gets, you know,
(30:19):
in this league if you're not playing internationally, to go
from Phoenix all the way to Buffalo and they jumped
all over those guys and Arizona let that one get away.
I'm really interested to see what Arizona does at home against.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
The fun Weekend Is games. Absolutely, it's gonna be cool
to watch.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
With that, we'll call it a rap on this edition
of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our
coverage of the team and everything from Sunday's game in Nashville.
West and I will both be there. We will have
it all for you on Packers dot com for Westside Mike,
thank you for tuning in. Everybody, We will see you
next time.
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spoffer, joined by the
one and only Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to you Hear
from our studios at Landbouwfield to preview Sunday's Week three matchup.
It will be a noon Central Time kickoff in Nashville,
Tennessee between the Packers and the Tennessee Titans, and we
(00:30):
will talk about the Titans at length here in a
bit West. But unless you have been living under a rock,
which is maybe I'll try that someday, live under a rock.
You are aware that Jordan Love has returned to practice
for the Green Bay Packers. He was on the practice
field Wednesday on a limited basis. There was absolutely no
(00:51):
clarification given whatsoever as to what limited meant. What did
he actually do at practice? Nobody knows except Jordan Love
and the players on the but it certainly lends itself
to belief that there is a legitimate chance Jordan Love
could get medical clearance by the end of this week
(01:13):
in order to play against the Titans. Maybe that happens,
maybe it doesn't. But regardless the fact that this early
after that knee injury in Brazil. Jordan Love is actually
back on the practice field doing something within those workouts
with his teammates, a huge positive sign for Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
You and I boarding the buses and saw pollo are
feeling all over the place of just as much as
it hurt to lose the opener, please don't let this
be the end of the Jordan Love story in twenty
twenty four. How the injury looked you saw the replays
of it. How demoralizing that felt, that hopelessness feeling with
fifteen seconds ago, that maybe something significant and happening with
(01:55):
Jordan Love. Love said it as locker. It's still one
of the most painful things he's ever experienced on a
football field. But the fact that he's able to get
on the practice field look as spry as he did.
I had a video that kind of so quote unquote
went viral, like all videos do in these day and age,
but a lot of engagement with it, you know, with
Jordan bouncing around, dancing around, looking like he's having a
(02:16):
good time out there, all those things are just so
welcomed considering how things look less than you know, two
weeks ago. So we'll see what this all means for Sunday.
And you know, Malik Willis talked to his locker as
well on Wednesday, and they're gonna be ready for whatever
scenario unfolds with this situation. But Jordan Love limited and
(02:37):
that's all we learned about what he did in practice
on Wednesday. He was limited, team limited limited. But the
fact is is that the sire relief and the the
the bullet that the Packers appear to have dodged with Love.
You just can't talk enough about just the sire relief
that comes with that. And then along along those lines,
(03:00):
it was something I wrote about earlier this week, the
fact that the Packers were able to create a game
plan to win without him. It just only adds to
the excitement of what this team could look like with him.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yeah. Absolutely, And so when it comes to Sunday against Tennessee,
Packers might have the return of Jordan Love or it
might be the so called revenge tour for Malik Willis
going up against his former team, a notion that he
as expected downplayed it said, Hey, he's got nothing against
(03:30):
you know how things went in Tennessee. You know it's
an organization that drafted him took a chance on him,
and Malik Willis is just is thankful for whatever opportunity
comes his way. So we will see what happens there.
What we do know is the opponent will be the
Tennessee Titans, and they are zero to two after a
(03:50):
couple of very frustrating losses actually by the identical score
of twenty four to seventeen, first to the Chicago Bears,
then to the New York Jets. And if there's one
unit that can't really shoulder a heck of a lot
of blame for the Titans starting zero to two, it's
that defense. They have allowed just four hundred and thirteen
(04:12):
yards total in two games, which leads the league. That
is the fewest yards allowed by any defense in the
NFL through the first two weeks of the season. This
is going to be whether it is Love or Willis
under center, this is going to be a very different
kind of challenge for the Packers offensively.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, and the impressive thing about what Tennessee has done
is they've done this without an interception so far. They've
achieved this without having like a big sack sort of thing.
I mean, Harold Landry has three sacks, but It's not
like it's these name sort of guys that have been
accomplishing all this. They've been doing it with the sum
of the whole and Denard Wilson going in there, I
(04:52):
think it's been such a breadth of fresh air for
them not to say what Mike Vrabel did all those
years didn't work. They had a lot of success there too,
but it just it seems like the direction that this
thing headed with Brian Calahan taken over as the head
coach and in giving the reins to Wilson after everything
that that Baltimore Ravens did last year. Mike, you and
I have talked about it numerous times. I've never seen
(05:15):
a coaching staff a particular side of the ball get
gutted the way that the Ravens did. And we're talking
head coaches, we're talking defensive coordinators, We're talking about guys
moving up in the in the scheme of things with
how dominant Baltimore was during stretches last season. So now
Wilson comes here, he puts on his own swerve out
of this thing. As we were talking about with Matt
(05:36):
Lafleur on Wednesday, guy that kind of comes out of that.
Greg Williams sort of tree that aggression, you know, wanting
to get after it, but also very calculated and what
they've been able to accomplish. So the first two weeks
and I watched basically all of that Bears game. If
the Titans could have just played defense the entire time
and not had to worry about the other two phases,
(05:57):
they come out of there with a victor.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, they would have beaten the Bear and might have
beaten him handily they had. I mean, was that game
was seventeen nothing?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yeah? Yeah, you know, I mean the Bears scored twenty
four on answer to win it.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
Yeah, they let that one get away, I mean, bottom line.
And you know the first two games, both of these
games the Titans have lost. They have gotten off to
fast starts. They have built double digit leads. I believe
in both contests. They have outscored their opponents twenty seven
to ten in the first half. Yeah, first halves of
these first two games. You mentioned Landry has the three sacks.
(06:32):
You have, you have Jeffrey Simmons in the middle of
that defensive line. He's now paired with is it Tovandre?
And I get the first name correctly to and Andre Sweat.
So this is, as Larry Mccaerroan likes to say, this
is a salty group up front. But where the Titans
(06:52):
have had trouble is the mistakes on offense and the
mistakes on special teams. They've had a punt blocked in
each of their first two games. One of those was
returned for a touchdown by the Bears by former packer
Jonathan Owens. Actually, yeah, the other one I can't remember
for sure if it's set up a field goal or
a touchdown for the Jets, but led to points for
(07:14):
the Jets. So two block punts in the first two weeks,
and then on the offensive side with quarterback will Levis,
it's just it's been the turnovers. He's turned the ball
over five times himself, multiple interceptions, multiple lost fumbles, and
really the plays that have been the killers and that
have generated so much attention is where Willis has turned
(07:36):
the ball. I'm sorry, Levis has turned the ball over
trying to be a superhero.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, he's under.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Pressure and instead of instead of just taking a sack
and you know, living to play another play, he's trying
to do something miraculous. And against the Bears, it led
to a wacky shovel pass out toward the sideline that
was returned for a pick six by Tiger Stevenson against
the Jets. They were in the red zone, you know,
(08:03):
in position to score points, and he tries a you know,
a shovel thing to a running back off to the
side while he's getting sacked, and the ball ends up
kind of rolling and bouncing on the ground and the
Jets recover and the Titans don't get any points out
of that drive. And you know, Brian Callahan has not
minced any words in terms of how he feels about
his quarterback's lack of protection of the football. So that's
(08:28):
that's the area that the Titans are really focused on here,
is is getting Levis to play more within himself, you know,
let the offense do the work. He has been sacked
seven times. They have issues up front, and that's certainly
something I'm sure the Packers are looking at here going
into this game. But but Tony Pollard, Calvin Ridley, these
(08:49):
guys have weapons. You know, Levis has weapons around him,
and it's one of those things that you figure it's
probably just a matter of time before they can start
to put it together. A little bit more consistently. Hopefully
the Packers can keep them on that you know, up
and down inconsistent level for at least another week here.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
The Titans, especially, and I watched the game. As I
mentioned too, they remind me so much of the Bears offensively,
where it's like they got all these weapons and a
young quarterback in an offensive line that's really struggling so far.
So when you look at the amount of pressure, the
amount of hits that he's taken, in the amount of takeaways,
it seems to lend itself very well to what the
Packers have been doing well defensively through the first two
(09:27):
weeks of the season. But as Xavier McKinney was discussing
at his locker on Wednesday, there are so many things
that give you pause as far as the threats in
which the Titans can hurt you. Kelvin Ridley has gotten
his career back on track and he got rewarded for
it this past offseason. I thought last week against the
Jets really showed that he is still every bit of
(09:48):
a dynamic receiver that he was earlier in his career.
They have Tyler Boyd who's been a consistent performer for years.
DeAndre Hopkins. You know a guy in Treylon Berk said,
you and I were talking, what was a potential Packers
pick three years ago?
Speaker 1 (10:02):
He was ended up being a mid a mid first
round pick if I correct.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
And then Tony Pollard goes there and while there are
these questions about ty J. Spears and whether or not
he's going to be available for this one, not practicing
due to an ankle on Wednesday, Pollard showed last year
with Dallas, I mean he is a bellcow back if
you allow him to be, and they've been feeding him,
so the number one thing they have to clean up.
And it was another thing that McKinney touched on for
(10:26):
everything that's gone wrong for the Titans the first two weeks,
much like the Packers are doing, they're doing their own research,
they're doing their own review, They're trying to make their
own corrections to make sure that you can avoid that
going into this matchup with Green Bay. From the Packers' perspective,
it is about generating pressure though, and if Lovice does
give you an opportunity taking the football away. Five interceptions
(10:48):
through the first two games of the season, seven all
of last year combined. The Packers are feeling themselves a
little bit in that regard the confidence, the swagger is
there that if the ball is in the air, the
secondary is going to make a play.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yeah, And I want to get to our keys to
victory for this game for Green Band just a minute,
but first I'll take care of sponsor business. Serious XM
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(11:18):
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Speaker 2 (11:26):
Can I break in for one second? There? I was
talking to my dad, my dad, Pahad Avid, listener of
Packers on scripted. We appreciate your patronage and everything else
you do to support me. Father.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
He was actually on the fence about whether or not
you were going to remember the read with how long
our show went on Tuesday, because I think from what
Pahad Stats and Info said, we got to the twenty
six minute mark. Before we got the read in.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yeah, and usually the show's over by that, so yeah,
we did. We went pretty long on Tuesday. Yeah, just
a lot to talk about there was there was from
that game, but yes, I did remember, and we ended
up having kind of an extra long show on Tuesday there. Well,
you just brought it up, Wes. With regard to pressure
defensively for the Packers, I think we both would agree
(12:10):
that that will be one of the keys to victory here.
And you know that Packers defensive front is waiting for
an opportunity like this to get in a little bit
more of that pin your ears back mode, or at
least when it gets to say third and seven or
third nine or something like that, right, because the plan
(12:31):
has been, you know, to rush to contain Jalen Hurts
and Anthony Richardson, not necessarily rush to sack them. As
a result, the Packers have just three sacks through the
first two games of the season, which ranks toward the
bottom of the league. But that's been partly the result
of the plan, and I would say plan wise, that
has worked pretty well when you look at the fact
(12:52):
that those two quarterbacks, as I said on our last show,
they combined for only seventy rushing yards through the first
two games. In at fifty of those seventy rushing yards
were in the fourth quarter, So in the first three
quarters of those of the first two games, the Packers
pass rush plan worked very very well. This will be
a little bit different. Will Levis does have eight carries
(13:14):
for seventy four yards on the season, most of those
being of the scramble variety, so he will take off
and run. He can take off and run. What I
caution against in this game is because of everything we
just previously talked about with will Levis, where the message
is trying to be pounded into him, don't force the ball,
don't try to be a hero, only take what's there.
(13:36):
He may be more inclined than he's ever been before
to take off and run with the ball if he's
not seeing what he wants to see when he's in
the pocket. I think the Packers need to be cognizant
of that as much as they want to get after
him and employ a more traditional pass rush plan against
a quarterback as opposed to the first two weeks. You
(13:56):
have to kind of be aware of just the situation
and will Levis is in and how these first couple
of games have gone for him, because if he thinks
he has a chance to get the first down with
his legs, he's gonna take it instead of putting the
ball in harm's way.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
The consequences are not as drastic for the Green Bay
Packers if will Levis gets out into the open field,
as let's say, Jalen Hurts, we saw that ourselves with
our own eyes in Philadelphia two years ago. Absolutely, but
the danger is still omnipresent. And I think the big
lesson that if I'm Jason Rebervich and Jeff Hafflin I'm
talking to these guys this week is hey, listen, we
achieved our goals in the first two games of the season,
(14:33):
and there are a lot of selflessness that went along
with that. A lot of team mindset played into that.
But that doesn't mean now is the time to forsake
your rush lanes or to let your gaps go. You
still have to rush with a plan. It can't just
all be going back with your ears here thinking you're
just gonna be going after a statue. That's not the case.
So what my message would be, as well as we've
(14:54):
performed the last two weeks. This is the plan we're implementing.
This is how we want to go about doing it.
Stick to that in the rest will work itself out.
Because here's the thing, Michael, You're right, Will Levis is
going to be thinking at the beginning of this game,
all right, clean slight, no turnovers, let's play good football.
But as the punches and the kicks and everything happens
throughout the course of the first half and into the
(15:15):
third quarter and you get into winning time if it
comes down to it, that's where you start going back
on what your preset function is. That's where the things
can lapse a little bit, and that's where the Packers
have to get to. So, yeah, the first quarter has
worked out great for so far for the Packers this season.
They've gotten takeaways, they've gotten stops. If you have the opportunities,
(15:36):
get them but don't chase them. Is going to be
the biggest thing here, because on paper, I think the
way the Packers have performed on scale, this would be
a game I would expect the Packers to go in
and win, regardless of who is starting at quarterback. But
you have to earn it. You have to play smart
in order to achieve it.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Yeah, you want to be able to keep that turnover
train going, not just the Packers' defensive turnover train, but
that offensive turnover train of the Titans, because if you
can get another takeaway early in this game, yea, you
put an opponent like the Titans into like, oh here
we go again mood, Like you know, we haven't gotten
these things fixed, you know, and this is just gonna
(16:13):
be just like these other games with the mistakes. And
if you can force that kind of a mistake early on,
I think it could go a long way offensively, whether
it's Love or Willis at quarterback for the Packers. Obviously,
you'd like to be able. You'd like to be able
to run the ball like the Packers did against the
Colts every single week in this league. You'd be a
(16:34):
very very difficult team to beat. That's not realistic, you know,
fifty plus carries, you know, two hundred and sixty plus
rushing yards is not realistic. But if you can get
enough going on the ground and that really gets your
play action game going. I mean, I've said it many times,
Jordan Love was at the peak of his powers in
the second half of last season. It was when Aaron
(16:56):
Jones was running the ball really well and the play
action pass was just open. Stuff was open for Jordan Love.
So whether it's Love or Willis at quarterback, I think
the play action game, the play action game is huge
here against a defense that has had a lot of
success shutting teams down in the first couple of weeks. Obviously,
(17:16):
you have to protect the ball. The Packers have done
a pretty decent job of that. Josh Jacobs has put
the ball on the ground once in each of the
first two games, so the the you know, ball security,
the attention to the ball security there is necessary for him.
But I think offensively this comes down to the play
action game for Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Really quickly before and I agree with you on that.
I love listening to Ben Sermons. We talked to him
on Wednesday night. I mentioned this here as soon as
I came back. He always learned something those Brent Ben Simmons,
the Packers running back his news conferences. Absolutely, because we
got into the discussion towards the end of his presser,
remout just exactly what's going on with Jacobs and the
analogy he used, and maybe he's spit that it's at
us before and I haven't thought much about it, but
it was the jaguar analogy, where if jaguar, when he's
(18:00):
running as fast as they are, they use their tail
basically to keep their balance when they're cutting fast. With
running backs, when a guy is moving quickly, that's where
the arms go up because naturally, without thinking about it,
that's how your body is responding to make sure that
you stay balanced. The job of the NFL running backs
coach and the NFL runner is to still keep that
(18:23):
ball in tight when those things happen. What you're seeing
with the Josh Jacobs fumble so far, both of them
pretty much have been when he's trying to change direction
and allowing the ball to get away from his body.
Sermons feels like that's correctable. It's something they want to
work on with him. But again, it's just something very
unique to the way he runs. It's also what makes
him a brilliant running back. It got the Packers so
(18:44):
many yards over expectation in that game against the Colts,
and so you tip your half to him on that regard.
I think this game has won in two different capacities.
I think it's one on the ground. I think what
Josh Jacob's dealing with a back injury. Yet, we'll have
to see where he's at. Emmanuel Wilson Sermons says he
feels like he's ready for a bigger role, if that's
what's called upon now that Marshawn Lloyd has gone to
injured reserve with the ankle. But conversely, Tony Pollard is
(19:08):
the kind of guy that could give you a lot
of headaches, especially with the way the Packers and the
yards that they're giving up per carry right now, because
he's a plotting kind of back. He's up to one
hundred and forty four rushing yards on the year, but
only along right now of twenty six. He's a guy
that's going to continually try to wear you down. The
Packers have to curb against that. The other thing where
Green Bay needs to come through here is protecting the football.
(19:28):
Tennessee's defense has done so many things well here so
far except taking away the football. They have one takeaway
so far this season, tied for twenty fourth in the league.
Only two other teams have zero so far this year.
They have one interception. I believe it is no one
fumble recovery is what it is. No interception So whether
it's Love, whether it's Malik Willis, regardless of who's carrying
(19:50):
the football, the Packers need to make sure that thing
does not get over to the Tennessee Titans because both
of these games the first two weeks for Tennessee have
been lost by the turnover margin and the points have
been generated off them.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah, I totally agree with you there. And the other
thing I will add is I mentioned the block punts
that Tennessee has has struggled with on special teams. This
is the kind of game where you have to win
the special team's battle in some form or fashion. And
I'm not saying the Packers need to get need to
block another punt by Tennessee, but when a special team's
(20:22):
unit is struggling the way tennessees is, you can't let
them get the upper hand on you. In a matchup
like this, the Packers need to win the special team's battle,
whether that's Brayden Narvis and having you know, a perfect
day kicking instead of having the one miss that he's had,
Daniel Wheelan continuing to do what he's done with with
pinning opponents inside the twenty yard line with his punts.
(20:44):
You know, maybe it's it's Keyshawn Nixon or Jaden Reid,
you know, kickoff return, punt return, you know, making something happen.
The Packers need to win that phase because they are
going up against a unit that is struggling and trying
to fix a bunch of things. So so you got
to come out ahead there in the in the field
position battle.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
We know there's no gambling in Bushwood, So let's just
you know, handshake on this. Yeah, NFL, no gambling happening here.
What week do you think Keishaw Nixon's finally gonna have
a real returnable, Like he might return one, but at
what point, let's say, within three yards of the goal line,
into the into the end zone.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yeah, maybe maybe Thanksgiving Night against Miami or something like that.
Like I mean yeah, I mean, he's not gonna get.
He's not gonna get He's not gonna get the opportunities
unless the kicker just completely mishits.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
I can't wait for the Packers unscripted when we break
down this new kickoff at the end of the season.
We made all these changes, all these structural changes. It's like, Hey,
I'm going to completely renovate my house and I'm not
gonna live in it. I am gonna redo the cabinets
and all the appliances and everything like that, and I'm
gonna go lay, I'm gonna go sit in the garage
for six months.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Like yeah, this is what though, right, Yeah, they tried,
they tried something. They tried something that essentially it isn't
it had. It's not any worse than all the touchbacks
watching for the last couple of years. Just now the
touchbacks are you know, the ball is on the thirty yard.
The one thing, the one thing I'll say where you know,
(22:18):
I mean, those five yards can make a difference at
any point, the one thing I'll say. And it sort
of hit me watching the Monday Night game this past
Monday night, after the Eagles kicked the field goal against
the Falcons to go up six, and then they kicked
the ball off into the end zone, and you know,
and the Falcons had plenty of time because of the
drop third down pass and all that. But when you're
(22:40):
you know, you've you've got a last ditch two minute
drive and you're starting on the thirty matters and instead
of the twenty five, it's sort of it's sort of like, oh,
you know, and Obviously, as Matt Lafleur had said in Brazil,
it wasn't communicated to Nixon to not take that last
kickoff out of the end zone. He lost about five
five seconds and about fifteen yards where the Packers could
(23:03):
have been able to start that final drive on the
thirty yard line where they were just trying to get
into hail Mary position, you know. And and conversely, you know,
Daniel Wheelan pinning the Colts on the five yard line
on that final drive last week, where they did get
out into, you know, very close to the hail Mary position.
(23:23):
If they're if that punt is a touchback on the
twenty instead of on the five, that final drive perhaps looks,
you know, looks different there as well. But before we go,
a quick glance at some other key games that we'll
be keeping our eyes on in Week three. I think
the biggest one is a pair of two and oh teams.
Houston is at Minnesota. Minnesota the only two and oh
(23:44):
team in the NFC North so far. Houston c J. Stroud,
the second year quarterback, that offense well, and that defense
quite frankly, they're you know, they've other than those long
passes they gave up to Anthony Richardson in Week one,
Houston's defense has you know, been been pretty tough. Obviously,
Chicago Bears, you know, their offensive line, as you know,
(24:07):
has had its struggles and the Texans took advantage of that.
But a really interesting one at US Bank with two
two and zero teams in Week three.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Yeah, and again Minnesota the way they've been performing so far,
and you can see the locker room videos how excited
they are, and I credited Kevin O'Connell a lot of
that earlier this week, seeing the adjustment is going to
be important. There was a lot of fervor and there
was a lot of hype behind Josh Dobbs last year too,
and they started to turn things around, seeing if they
can maintain this. It sounds like from what I understood
(24:35):
that Aaron Jones might already be a little banged up
already with a hip. I don't think it's anything that's
going to keep him out, but I mean again, he's
he's the guy in that backfield and they need weapons
right now. So the thing I'm most interested to see though,
is how the Vikings offense just excuse me, that Vikings
defense handles the CJ Strout effect, because there's something about
(24:57):
that offense right now, man, where I just think it's
one of the more exciting units in football. It looks
like the Joe Mixon thing has been a tremendous signing
for them. I questioned that at first. I just wondered,
if you know where Mixing was going with his career,
if maybe this was getting towards the end. But they
got everything they need to put points up against you,
(25:17):
and it'll be a good little track meet over at Minneapolis.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, I think so too. Philadelphia is at New Orleans
interesting there because can the Saints playing at home get
to three and zero and attract even more attention? Whereas
Ken the Philadelphia Eagles on a short week going on
the road, bounce back from coughing that one up at
home to the Falcons on Monday night, with that with
that last minute drive by Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Did you see that stat on Derek Carr as far
as the number of scoring drives he started the season with, Yeah,
it's like fifteen straight spots.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
It's yeah, it's something crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Like the next closest is like eight.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Yeah. Lynn Kubiak, the the new offensive coordinator for the
new Orleans Saints. He's already been talked about as a
head coaching candidate after after two weeks of the Saints
putting up whatever forty plus into their first two games
this season.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
Tomara looking like a be still a laves there. I mean,
there's yeah, there's a lot to like. But yeah, that's
a huge turnaround for Philly because they're coming off a
demoralizing loss.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yeah, and it's it's a short week and then they
have they play on Monday night at home, they have
to jump on a plane on Saturday go on the road.
Those are those are challenging situations. Baltimore, the Ravens trying
to avoid zero to three going into Dallas to play
the Cowboys. And it's interesting West because when we were
talking last year, the Packers were in the wild Card
(26:39):
round going down to Dallas and everything was, you know,
the Cowboys had, however long of a home winning streak,
it was et cetera, et cetera. Well, now, combining the
wild Card game last January with the Cowboys home opener
last week, they not only have lost their last two
home games, they have gotten blown out at home in
their last two games in Dallas, and they are at
(26:59):
home again facing a Ravens team that that's kind of
up against it because I know there's a seventh playoff spot.
I know there's there's the seventeen games now instead of sixteen.
But zero to three, man, that's a big that's a
big hole that John Harbaugh and company are trying to
avoid absolutely.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
And again, as I talked about on Tuesday, show the
margin for victory in this league and the margin for
error is so small and narrow. And just look at
Baltimore to see a good example that people are going
to make this out to be about Mike McCarthy. To
some extent, it will because he's the guy that ultimately
hires as coaches, but the Mike Zimmer defense here. This
is a huge, huge test for Yeah, big time because
of what they accomplished last year, you know, for them
(27:38):
to be able to make this transition this year with
the expectations that they have and having their their top
cornerbacks back at least in theory we're going to have
them back, they they have to be able to respond
here against Lamar Jackson in this Baltimore offense, very very
intriguing matchup to see exactly how that plays out.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Last one to get a quick thought on. Much like
Houston and Minnesota, where that's an NFC North rival playing
a team the Packers are going to see later in
the season, the Detroit Lions are going on the road
to play Arizona. Yep, that is a team that the
Packers will face later this season as well. The Lions
trying to bounce back from the home loss to the Buccaneers.
(28:18):
The Cardinals they fell in Week one, looked awfully good
in Week two, and the Cardinals seeing if they can
really get something going with Kyler Murray. And as you
mentioned on our last show, Marvin Harrison Junior.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
I have a lot of respect for Kyler Murray, so
I don't want this to come off as a diss
but I love all this conversation right now about him
and how he's playing and what the difference has been
with him. And I keep telling people over and over again,
I mean, he was really good his first two years when.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Tom Clemons was his position, going yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Just want to throw that out there, but he is
a supernaturally talented guy. It seems like he has some
great synergy already with Marvin Harrison Junior. Exciting offense again
another exciting offense in the situation the game they play.
Seeing this class between the way the Lions like to
do things and what potentially is there for the Cardinals.
I think that's gonna be something that'll be uh. We
won't be able to watch it, but they'll be fun
(29:08):
for a lot of people to check out.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Yeah, we'll be uh, I guess trying to would By
the time we get on the plane, I suppose we'll
be checking, uh, checking the score, see if we can
catch some highlights maybe on between Detroit and Arizona.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
But I got one more thing. I love the other
thing about the Nasprobolack. I did not want to see
TWOA get hurt. But you know, we all including myself,
kind of wrote the the you know, the obituary here
on the Buffalo Bills. And now they are in a
position to go three and oh here going up against
the O and two Jacksonville Jaguars amidst all their changes,
amidst all the questions about Josh Allen and if he's
(29:40):
overrated or whatever else. Death taxes Buffalo Bills in the
the AFC East. Now, I just feel like that team
and what they've built. There's been some guys that have
come and gone. But in this post, Tom Brady era,
I think you got to give a lot of respect
to Sean McDermott for what they've built there.
Speaker 1 (29:58):
Absolutely, and I'll throw this out as well because we
were just talking about the Cardinals Week one. The Cardinals
had a seventeen to three lead in Buffalo US over
the Bills. They let that get away, and the Bills
have shown that, you know, they're looking like a team
that remains a contender. But the Arizona Cardinals, I mean,
that's about as long a flight as it gets, you know,
(30:19):
in this league if you're not playing internationally, to go
from Phoenix all the way to Buffalo and they jumped
all over those guys and Arizona let that one get away.
I'm really interested to see what Arizona does at home against.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
The fun Weekend Is games. Absolutely, it's gonna be cool
to watch.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
With that, we'll call it a rap on this edition
of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our
coverage of the team and everything from Sunday's game in Nashville.
West and I will both be there. We will have
it all for you on Packers dot com for Westside Mike,
thank you for tuning in. Everybody, We will see you
next time.
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